OT: Colt Defender

[Aries]

Do any of you own a Colt Defender and how do they compare to Kimber and others?

[specops]

Owned, past tense. After 500 rounds I still had FTF and FTE problems with it. VERY sensitive to grip and ammo choice. Very firm grip and +P ammo were the only things that seemed to work consistently. Lubing the barrel and or the slide didn't seem to make any difference. I've seen more Kimbers in this size than Colts. Don't know of anyone that owns a Kimber in this size. Sold mine and replaced it with a Glock 36. It goes "BANG" every time you pull the trigger no matter what you stuff in the barrel, how you hold it or orient it (upside down, right side up or sideways). It weights less than my Taurus 605 stubbie, interchanges holsters with my Glock 19 so I can practice with cheap 9mm. It's not something you would want to run a couple hundred rounds of +P through at the range in one setting thought it does shoot "softer" than my 1911A1 with standard ball.

[Noah Zark]

A Colt Defender is my primary carry gun, has been for two years now.

Like any 1911, the Defender functionality will be sensitive to the extractor and its degree of tuning. An improperly tuned extractor will generate FTFs with the slide partially closed on a round partially up the feed ramp or partially chambered. In effect, the feeding round binds on the extractor because the claw grips it too firmly or there's insufficient clearance to allow the round to pivot upward to ride up the feed ramp and into the chamber.

My own Defender was no exception, and once I spent 20 mins with the extractor one evening it has been 100% functional with 230 gr ball ever after, and with any JHP that has a bullet profile like that of the 230 gr ball. Forget SWC bullet profiles. Don't even go there.

Another issue is the magazine, and specifically the feed lip geometry. With a short 1911, EVERYTHING has to happen at EXACTLY the right timing for feed, fire, and extraction to take place with reliability. I have three Colt factory mags with the "M" stamp on them and the feed lips are the very early release configuration. These DO NOT function in my gun. Other Colt factory mags with the early release lips (longer capture of the case rim before release) function fine. Those are marked "C" and "S". The mags that I use all the time in my Defender are Wilson Combats. They have been 100% reliable. Also, some Kimber and McCormick mags with early release and GI tapered release feed lips function fine. Stay away from very early release mags.

There are some that say the recoil springs need replaced between 300 and 600 rounds. I have over 1300 rounds in my Defender which I bought used and have no idea what was through it before. I've not experienced a failure since extractor tuning and switching from very early release mags to early release mags

I do not have a Kimber in any flavor, but I have a Springfield Microcompact that also needed extractor tuning when I bought it used. It is also 100% functional with the same ammo as above. I carry the MC and the Defender interchangeably.

HTH,

Noah

[coyote nose]

Bought a Defender at a gun show early this year after looking at them for a few years. Mine was barely used. I have put a lot of rounds thru it, both factory FMJs and winchester silvertips, plus my own handloads (FMJ ammo and lead roundnose I cast with wheelweights from an old Herters mould). So far, using only the two magazines it came with, I have had ZERO FTFs and ZERO FTEs. 100 percent reliable, and I tried limp wristing it, double tapping, and angling it as I shot it. Standard fare for me when testing an autoloader. Bought it because the price was great (it was a trade where I gave up a gun and cash and got the Defender and a Colt SAA 3rd gen...but I figure I have 450 in it) and I always wanted to try one. I didn't plan on keeping it long when I initially got it (I traded mainly for the SAA)...mainly to give the Defender a trial. Guess what...it is a keeper now. I love it.